Art of the West continues to be one of Santa Fe Art Auction’s most popular sales, and this year’s offerings include almost 500 lots that range widely from classic to contemporary Western painting and sculpture as well as Native American art and pottery, historic photography, and much more. A selection of important paintings by historic western artist Edward Borein will be on the block this May, including one of his highly collectable watercolors, titled Remuda, which is estimated at $6,000 – 9,000. Borein was a true cowboy artist, and his work reflects his experience as a cattle rancher in California, coming of age during the last years of the Old West. Santa Fe Art Auction is also privileged to present the work of Frank Tenney Johnson, another important early painter of the West, with Mexican Freight Haulers, a moonlit, textured oil on canvas with an estimate of 25,000 – 35,000.
Contemporary painting and sculpture by Western and Native artists are additionally anticipated as highlights for the upcoming auction. A compelling 2012 oil on canvas by Bill Schenck, titled Seven Yearlings Along the Wash, is expected to gain significant traction, a quintessential example of the artist's work that exhibits vibrant, graphic colors and a strong composition, positioning Western landscape painting in conversation with contemporary pop sensibilities. Galloping War Chief (6,000 – 10,000) by legendary painter Malcom Furlow, of Choctaw descent, is one of many of the artist’s works that will be presented, and is a particularly striking example of his vision through its strong color sensibilities, dynamic form, and lively brushwork.
Collectors can also find woodcuts by Gustave Baumann, including Waiting to be Counted, a 1957 piece with a distinct reflective quality achieved through to the artist’s use of aluminum leaf over laid paper (6,000 – 9,000). A strong selection of photogravures by Edward Curtis will also be up for auction, including Shot in the Hand – Apsaroke, an important 1908 portfolio print from the photographer’s magnum opus, The North American Indian (1907 – 1930), estimated at 7,000 – 10,000. The auction house is privileged to offer further selections from well-loved New Mexico arts patron, the late Gregory Warren Nelson, from his exceptional collection in his home in Taos, New Mexico.
